"This is a story that has been waiting to be written for half a century, and Fry has done it proud." Classic FM "Her beauty had driven him mad with longing. By God, he thought, unless I have that woman I shall be cheated out of my heaven." William Gerhardie Albert Einstein called her 'The Beloved Piano-Witch'. Many famous men were besotted by her. Internationally acclaimed concert pianist Harriet Cohen was both beautiful and talented, becoming a household name in the 1920s and 30s. This is the epic love story between ...
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"This is a story that has been waiting to be written for half a century, and Fry has done it proud." Classic FM "Her beauty had driven him mad with longing. By God, he thought, unless I have that woman I shall be cheated out of my heaven." William Gerhardie Albert Einstein called her 'The Beloved Piano-Witch'. Many famous men were besotted by her. Internationally acclaimed concert pianist Harriet Cohen was both beautiful and talented, becoming a household name in the 1920s and 30s. This is the epic love story between Harriet and Arnold Bax, composer and married man. Based on previously unpublished love letters, the book charts their unquenchable relationship which set them on a turbulent forty-year path of love, lust and betrayal. This indomitable woman herself had many lovers, and was a great conversationalist whose friends included George Bernard Shaw; D.H. Lawrence, Arnold Bennett and HG Wells, Sir Edward Elgar; Sibelius; Vaughan Williams and William Walton. Politically, her friends included Ramsay MacDonald, the first Labour Prime Minister; Lloyd George, Eleanor Roosevelt; and Chaim Weizmann, the first President of Israel. Bax's estranged wife Elsa died in September 1947, something which Harriet did not discover for nine months. She believed that now he would marry her, but he harboured a dark secret. His ensuing confession was to have devastating consequences.
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Seller's Description:
Fine in Very Good jacket. Hardcover Cloth 320 pages. Condition Fine Dust Jacket Fine Very Good. Presumed First edition 2008. Handsome black boards and gilt embossing shows off this Clean, tight, square copy with no marks, highlights or bookplates. Book Well kept and carefully stored in unread condition. No shelf wear. An unclipped dust jacket smooth, clean and brilliant with slight shelf wear-a few wrinkles and chips. Not an ex-library, book club or remainder copy. It was during the turbulent decade of World War I that the intensely gifted and beautiful Harriet Cohen established herself as a pianist. Enjoying huge success in her professional life, she was the first person outside the Soviet Union to play the music of the modern Soviet composers and was a huge success in America and throughout Europe. Her beauty and talent made her one of the most talked-about and photographed musicians of her day. Yet it was in her private life that the story of this extraordinarily talented young woman becomes one of the greatest love stories of all time. Her passionate love affair with the composer Sir Arnold Bax spanned more than 30 years. Their infatuation was played out against the backdrop of World War I, and was peppered with betrayal, lust, and tragedy. Their letters, published here for the first time, are among the most explicit of any written during that time and are staggering in their passion and poetry. Brilliant author Helen Fry tells for the first time the remarkable story of this forgotten woman. Music and Men tells of Harriet Cohen's friendships and relationships with leading figures from every walk of life, from George Bernard Shaw to D.H. Lawrence and H.G. Wells, Sir Edward Elgar, Albert Einstein, Arnold Bennett, Vaughan Williams, Ramsey MacDonald, and Eleanor Roosevelt. Offering an insight into the politics, arts, and culture of the day, this incredible new biography tells the poignant story of a beautiful, possessive, flirtatious, and determined musician.